Scammers All Over The Net

The internet is a happy hunting ground for con men. They peddle scams ranging from Nigerian oil bonds to free iPods and trips to Tahiti. folks we contemptuously call stupid fall for these, and give out such details as their credit card numbers and whether they like to be whipped during sex. This one scam caught our attention becuase the man in question almost lost his life. A sad one, this.

A misguided Australian farmer was surfing on the net and he seems to have hooked up with a chik in, of all places, Mali (somewhere deep down in Africa).The “lady” was willing to marry, and she also seemed rich, ready with a dowry of gold bars worth $85,000 (comes up to around 35 lakh). Not to miss up on the chance, our boy from down under went to Make to formalize the nuptials. All went well until the prospective groom found himself shepherded into a room where two machete-wielding goons robbed him of his cash and credit cards, thrashed him, and threatened to hack his limbs off unless he gave them that $85,000 as the price for his life. Talk about the shoe being on the other foot…

To cut a long story short, the shaken man got off without serious harm when Australian and Malian police lured the kidnappers into the Canadian embassy and arrested them. And escorted the farmer, probably swearing bachelorhood for life, back to Sythe Australia. Someone said in a Dave Barry book – “Look man, I don’t trust anybody on the internet, man! Heck, no my mother! Not even myself1” Now that’s what is called a lesson!